Out of Print

It's a sad day in a writer's life when a book goes out of print.  No longer is that book part of the market, no longer is it "in the wild" or "out there."  It has lived its life and is now, sadly, gone.  This past week, I saw not one, but four of my books go out of print.  That's right, four.  The books in question are Deadlands, City of Demons, and the first two books of the Stanley Cooper Chronicles, Vermin and Pages.  Has it really been that long?  Yes.  Really, it has.

Deadlands first saw print in 2005.  It was my second book, way back before the whole "zombie" craze, about a post-apocalyptic world where the walking dead wondered the Earth, and normal folk were forced to live in underground cities like ants.  When the original publisher, Harbor House Books, closed up shop, the book was given new life by Dr. Pus at Library of the Living Dead, and I'll be forever grateful to him for picking it up.  It's a quirky little book that holds a special place in my heart.



City of Demons was my first attempt at noir.  A supernatural thriller that dealt with police, religious cults, murder, mayhem, and depravity, COD was my love-letter to Micky Spillane and Dashiell Hammett, and to the tough guys they wrote.  It was also, at the time, the most brutal story I'd ever written.

Which leads us to Vermin and Pages.  Before you start thinking The Stanley Cooper Chronicles are done, let me dispel that rumor.  Stanley Cooper is alive and well, and his story is far from over.  Right now, Vermin and Pages rest in the most capable hands possible:  Those belonging to my agent.  We're looking for a larger home for Stanley.  And while Ectostorm is still available, I'm working hard on writing the fourth book, Birthright.  In fact, I could be happy writing the adventures of Stanley Cooper for the rest of my life, provided he finds a home.  So if you want to see more Stanley Cooper, keep your fingers crossed.  Larger press or not, there will be more to his story.  But I'd really love for him to find a larger audience.

So, to date, that makes my back catalogue of thirteen books down to only five.  Out of print is An American Haunting, Deadlands, Cane River:  A Ghost Story, Deadlands (reprint), City of Demons, The Mayor's Guide:  The Stately Ghosts of Augusta, and Vermin and Pages.  Remaining out there for folks to read are Ectostorm, Ghosts of San Antonio, Haunted Austin Texas, The Journal of Edwin Grey, and, of course, Droplets.  Sure, you can still find copies of all of them, but once those are gone, there'll be no more left.  I may self-pub Deadlands and  City of Demons, but chances are, that'll be it.

That's not the end for my writing career, though.  There's more coming.  Just watch me run.

SAJ